Our high suicide rate in Larimer County

By Steve Johnson

Larimer County Commissioner, District 2

Posted:
05/19/2017 09:48:17 AM MDT

Steve Johnson

Larimer County has a dark secret. We need to talk about it, and do something about it.

Our community is consistently ranked first or second in a number of great things. We are one of the top places to live in the nation. Our state is among the healthiest in the country. We rank high in employment rates and opportunities.

But we also have the highest suicide rate in the state and nation. That's not something to be proud of. In fact, it's a public health emergency that we can and must address.

Suicide rates in Larimer County are the highest they have been in 10 years, with 83 people taking their lives in 2016, more than double the number just 10 years ago. In the last two years, five CSU students have died due to suicide. High School and Middle School students in Fort Collins, Berthoud, Loveland, Windsor and Estes Park have been lost to suicide in the last two years.

Each of these precious lives lost is an unimaginable tragedy to the families and an immeasurable loss to us all as a community.

For a long time, suicide was not talked about publicly nor covered in the media. I commend the local media for making suicide and mental health a major issue they cover in our community. It is healthy to have an informed public dialogue about suicide and mental health in our community. In fact, it's essential if we are to formulate an effective strategy. We now know the stigma, silence, and isolation surrounding mental health is a major contributor to the toll it takes on us.

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There is no single cause to suicide and no one simple answer. But I would contend, and experts agree, that mental health is a huge piece of the puzzle and an essential element of any public policy response. Public health is an important responsibility of county government. This is a serious issue and to not address it would be dereliction of our duty. We have one of the best physical healthcare systems in the nation, but we all know there are serious gaps in coverage, access and providers of mental health in our community.

Last year, the county put forth a ballot proposal to fund greater mental health care in our community which unfortunately failed by a narrow margin. We can't afford to give up on addressing this need. We have learned from that experience and are working to create a new proposal for the ballot in 2018, which is our next opportunity to address critical gaps in all parts of our county. I invite you to participate and help in this effort. If we all pledge to work together we can and will improve the mental health of our community and save lives.

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